Explorers
by Archaeopteryx Feather
Summary: A series of short vignettes focusing on Starscream and Skyfire during the Golden Age.


_When I was writing "Fire and Stars," I included some flashbacks to Starscream's life as an explorer. Alas, these didn't fit well into the story, and a friend wisely suggested that I cut them out. I still like the scenes though, so I decided to post them here. Don't expect plot or anything. ;P_

* * *

Starscream followed Skyfire over a range of high-peaked black mountains. It was night, and dense clouds of golden stars glittered overhead. They were circling the planet, cruising slowly towards the daylit side. An accelerated blue dawn crept slowly up over the horizon as they flew forwards in time.

"What could be so interesting that you had to drag me all the way to another continent to see it?" Starscream said. "I was almost done with that core sample."

"It's a surprise," Skyfire said.

"It had better be good," Starscream said.

"It will be."

The sky was taking on a whitish tinge as they swept down towards a whitewater river roaring through a canyon. Starscream eyed the geology, trying to guess what Skyfire had brought him out to see.

"Sedimentary rocks," he said, interpreting the striated appearance of the rugged black cliffs.

"It's a stack of oceanic advancement and retreat sequences," Skyfire said. "All of this used to be underwater, and the sea level changed cyclically over time."

"There must have been a lot of uplift to get everything this high."

"Yes; these mountains rose after the end of the last sequence. Well, here we are."

Skyfire passed over the canyon, and set down at the base of a nearby cliff. Starscream landed next to him with a ringing crunch of metal on stones. Out of habit, he examined the cliff's revealed strata, noting the repeating pattern of light and dark layers which corroborated Skyfire's mention of the cyclic sea levels.

Skyfire looked around for a moment as if orienting himself. Above them the ground sloped upwards steeply, exposing a slope of boulders and gravel flows.

"I think that's the way." He pointed uphill.

"Looks like fun."

They scrabbled up the hillside in a clatter of falling stones. Starscream clawed his way up on all fours as the gravel sank away underfoot. When they reached a ledge midway up, Skyfire paused again.

"Hear it?" he asked. Starscream listened. At the edge of his auditory perception, there was a faint, continuous noise.

"The river?" he asked, gesturing vaguely at the directionless sound.

"A waterfall," Skyfire said.

"A _waterfall?_" Starscream groaned. "That'sit? _That's_ what we came all this way to see?" He had seen dozens of waterfalls! Hundreds, even!

"Of course not," Skyfire said, his voice gently chiding.

Starscream gave a loud sigh. "I suppose it's a big one, at least?"

"You'll see," Skyfire said. "Come on, let's go before it's too late."

_ Too late? _Starscream thought. He found his interest involuntarily piqued.

They attacked the slope again. Each step they took sent a clattering avalanche of stones cascading down the hill. Skyfire was moving with uncharacteristic haste, and Starscream found he had to scramble to keep up with his long-legged friend as they surmounted slopes of scree and crumbling heaps of black boulders. The noise of the waterfall grew louder and louder.

A yellowish blush slowly illuminated the sky. Starscream wondered why they hadn't landed closer; the spot they had originally touched down at was only faintly visible now.

"Hurry!" Skyfire shouted, his voice floating indistinctly down from the promontary above. Starscream could hardly hear him now over the rumble of the waterfall. He looked around, trying to find it, but could see nothing—no mist nor any sign of water at all.

"I'm coming," Starscream yelled back. He clambered after his friend as best he could. At last he made it to the bottom of the ledge. Skyfire reached down and pulled him up. The other jet stared into the sunrise for a moment, then turned away and hurried towards a gash in the cliff face. Skyfire twisted sideways and disappeared from view.

Momentarily startled, Starscream followed. He peered inside and found a narrow passageway leading through the rocks. Skyfire was edging his way between the walls. Starscream imitated him, glancing upwards to catch a reassuring glimpse of the sky above.

As they squeezed through, the crack curved and bent downwards. The rumble increased to a roar, and the walls and floor began to grow damp. If the planet had supported life, Starscream would have expected to find dense mats of plants thriving under the constant moisture; as it was, there was nothing but wet stone beneath his heel thrusters.

A fresh, cool breeze swept through the passageway, and he was certain that they were getting close to their destination. What had Skyfire thought was so great about the waterfall? They had already seen bunches of them in their travels, some of them miles high, others made of novel materials like lava or even heavy gas. _Well, he__ does love waterfalls._

Finally the passage lightened and they stepped out onto a narrow ledge. Starscream was greeted by a shocking view. In the shadow of the canyon walls, a mighty sheet of water tumbled downward, falling into a churning whirlpool that lay directly underneath the cliff they were standing on. Over the thunder of the falls, he could hear sporadic slurps and growls as the whirlpool devoured the foam that the waterfall fed it. The scene was bathed in a cloud of mist that danced up from the pounding water below.

Starscream peered over the ledge to look straight down into the whirling vortex, and immediately felt Skyfire take hold of his wings. Unmindful, he continued looking down into the all-devouring hole, watching the foam as it was sucked into the darkness. When he had seen enough, he stepped back and away from the ledge, and Skyfire released him.

_Okay, y__ou were right, it was worth it,_ he said over their internal comm. It was too noisy to talk aloud. Skyfire smiled and pointed back at the scene.

_You haven't see it all yet. Keep watching_, he said.

_What is it?_ Starscream asked.

_You'll see,_ Skyfire replied, turning back to watch. Starscream waited, glancing back at Skyfire from time to time as the minutes dragged on. At last the sun rose over the wall of the canyon, striking the water and setting it ablaze with gold.

_Pretty,_ Starscream said.

_Wait. You haven't seen it yet,_ Skyfire said, optics fixated on the falls. _Keep looking. You don't want to miss it._ Impatiently, Starscream turned back to look—and suddenly the mist came alive with rainbows—rainbows that moved! Starscream's mouth fell open. The colorful bands writhed about like phantasmal snakes, undulating as if they were alive. He stood transfixed, watching them twist in the air.

_There, wasn't it worth it?_ Skyfire asked in quiet satisfaction.

_What makes them do that? _

_I don't know,_ Skyfire answered, holding up his palms empty-handed of answers. _There must be some __interaction__between the__ light and __the __mist that __only__ goes on a__t a certain sun angle__. It only lasts a few minutes._

_We'll have to study this._

_Agreed,_ Skyfire said. _For now, however, I suggest that we appreciate the pictoresque __attributes__ of the scene__._

Starscream snorted a laugh. _You and your waterfalls. __Is this__ a sightseeing tour __or a scientific expedition__?_

Skyfire just gave an indulgent smile. _B__oth. _

Starscream turned back to the spectacle, optics drinking in the rainbows, the whirlpool, and the golden waterfall. A second later he felt Skyfire rest his hand on the small flat spot between his wings. Starscream stood still, accepting the silent companionship. They watched the fallstogether_,_ and waited for the break of day.


End file.
